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Disclaimer

I was an invited guest for many of these trips, but I never accept a trip in exchange for any promise of positive​ stories or social media posts​. The opinions and findings are all my own and always... unedited. It speaks for the integrity of these suppliers that they trust their product will shine, without any quid pro quos in exchange for travel. I choose who I work with very carefully for this reason.

Lifestyle Blogger

Please note: I have been invited by Verizon to be one of their Lifestyle Bloggers. As such, I often tweet and write about how new devices, apps and tools enhance the mobile lifestyle and most particularly my work and travels. While Verizon Wireless provides me with the devices to test and sponsors me, the opinions I express are always my own. Follow these helpful discussions with me and my fellow Verizon bloggers using the #VZWBuzz hashtag.

When I travel for work I need data coverage that is strong and often in very remote places. When I am on vacation, I can wait for wifi coverage at a hotel or try to load pictures on London’s cloud, but when traveling for work, I need constant, predictable coverage. Why would I pay for global data roaming plans—-at $25.00 per 100MB when some companies provide free data roaming? Because I need to post the photo below, when I am in St. Petersburg at the Catherdral of Peter and Paul and not when the ship pulls out of port.

I need to post on social media and send articles to editors on the spot and not worry if coverage is available. I do think that very, very soon, global data roaming charges will be a thing of the past, but for the moment, the best option I have found worldwide is Verizon. For every work trip I make sure I am on the global data plan that best fits my needs. Voice is not a problem for me, all I need is the data and lots of it. In fact, the only phone calls I make when traveling are usually to the Global Services Help desk at Verizon. We chat so often I may need to list them as my personal assistant.

The Global Helpdesk saved me a few months back when I was in Morocco. I was on an Around the World by Private Jet trip and visited 7 countries in 28 days. Our next to the last stop was Morocco. As I was posting a video from the scene below in a remote Moroccan village, all of sudden my phone stopped transmitting data. I immediately called Verizon….from the hut you see in the background. (There was a strong signal from this remote village in the Atlas Mountains, score again for Verizon!) To my surprise the rep told me that Morocco was not covered by the data plans. (Yes they had sent a text but you always get these texts when traveling and I must confess I didn’t read it.) Since it was not covered, I had already spent $500 in data in less than 5 minutes so they had blocked me. THANKFULLY. They also agreed to adjust the charge and I had to rely on wifi alone while in Morocco.

Morocco was an exception in my travels and almost every other country has been covered by a data plan. I have tried other carriers with free data coverage and was rarely able to connect and when I did could not transmit pictures. In the past 12 months I have circled the globe 5 times. I have written over 25 articles and more social media posts than I can count. My productivity is directly correlated with my connectivity and for that I thank Verizon. Packing for my next trip now and for this one I will need two devices on data plans. Excessive? Perhaps. But it makes my life easier and my time on the road more productive. That is of great value to me.

Here are a few more samples of my Instagram posts on my last cruise. Follow my travels there for up to the minute coverage. Unless I return to Morocco. Let me know your experiences. Hopefully it will all be free data roaming for all with strong coverage very soon!

As most of my readers know, I am part of the Verizon Lifestyle Bloggers group #VZWBuzz and as such they send me new devices for me to test and review. They do not however, provide me with global data coverage. That I pay for so you should not consider this post a sponsored ad. It is just to share how I work, around the world and from Moroccan huts. Thanks!

I was an invited guest for many of these trips, but I never accept a trip in exchange for any promise of positive​ stories or social media posts​. The opinions and findings are all my own and always... unedited. It speaks for the integrity of these suppliers that they trust their product will shine, without any quid pro quos in exchange for travel. I choose who I work with very carefully for this reason.